Murder at the Pump: 41-Year-Old Shot and Killed Near Gas For Less

Gas For Less across from the Sunny Isle Shopping Center

By JOHN McCARTHY / St. Croix Sun Investigative Reporter

CHRISTIANSTED — The violence that has dogged the territory's "cuffs and collars" report claimed another victim Monday night, this time at a busy fueling station in Estate Diamond.

At approximately 7:05 p.m., the ShotSpotter Detection System alerted the 911 Emergency Call Center to multiple rounds fired in the vicinity of the Gas for Less gas station. As citizens began calling in reports of a "man down," VIPD units arrived to find a black male lying on the western side of the station, bleeding from his body.

Emergency Medical Technicians rushed the victim to the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital for treatment, but the injuries proved fatal. The victim has been positively identified by his next of kin as 41-year-old Emmett Bramble Jr..

The Criminal Investigation Bureau has taken over the scene, marking yet another grim entry in a Monday that began with Governor Bryan's pledges of "bold commitment" and ended with yellow tape at the pump. While Elon Musk might be obsessing over the efficiency of his charging stations, the residents of St. Croix are once again left questioning the safety of their own.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting of Emmett Bramble Jr. is urged to contact the VIPD at 340-778-2211, call 911, or reach out to Crime Stoppers VI at 1-800-222-TIPS.